TEXT G Most episodes of
absent-mindedness--forgetting where you left something or wondering why you just
entered a room--are caused by a simple lack of attention, says Schacter. "You’re
supposed to remember something, but you haven’t encoded it deeply.’
Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an
event that has a major impact on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly
can create annoying situations. If you put your mobile phone in a pocket, for
example, and don’t pay attention to what you did because you’re involved in a
conversation, you’ 11 probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now
hanging in your wardrobe. "Your memory itself isn’t failing you,’ says Schacter,
"Rather, you didn’t give your memory system the information it needed,
’ Lack of interest can also lead to absent-mindedness. "A man
who can recite sports statistics from 30 years ago," says Zelinski, "may not
remember to drop a letter in the mail- box." Women have slightly better memories
than men, possibly because they pay more attention to their environment, and
memory relies on just that. Visual cues can help prevent
absent-mindedness, says Schacter. "But be sure the cue is clear and available,"
he cautions. If you want to remember to take a medication with lunch, put the
pill bottle on the kitchen table--don’t leave it in the medicine chest and write
yourself a note that you keep in a pocket. Another common
episode of absent-mindedness: walking into a room and wondering why you’re
there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else. "Everyone does this
from time to time," says Zelinski. The best thing to do is to return to where
you were before entering the room, and you’ll likely remember. What is the passage mainly about
A.The process of gradual memory loss. B.The causes of absent-mindedness. C.The impact of the environment on memory. D.A way of encoding and recalling.